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Ginger’s potential to ward of superbugs and other ways to avoid nosocomial infections
When you’re admitted to a hospital, whether for surgery or an illness, you expect to come out healthier than you went in, or at least not sicker.
Unfortunately, for one in every ten people, just the opposite happens.
While in the hospital, those people contract a nosocomial infection.
Also known as a hospital-acquired infection (HAI), it’s an infection caused by a fungus or bacteria acquired from another patient, from a staff member, even from a medical device such as a catheter.
Common examples of the bacteria that cause these infections include Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium difficile, or C diff, and methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.
HAIs can cause severe pneumonia and infections of the urinary tract, bloodstream, and other parts of the body.
And of course, treating many of these with antibiotics is ineffective, and just adds fuel to the antibiotic-resistant fire.
Fortunately, there’s something in your grocer’s produce aisle that has greater antimicrobial power than many antibiotics.
Ginger: Potential protection from superbugs
Researchers from the Botswana International University of Science and Technology compared the antimicrobial power of ginger root extract with that of synthetic antibiotics.
When tested against E.coli, S. aureus, and three other antibiotic-resistant bacteria, ginger root extract showed higher antimicrobial activity than antibiotics.
The researchers attribute this to the presence of phytonutrients, natural chemicals that have their own antibacterial powers. These include saponin, tannin (also found in grapes and wine), flavonoids (which help guard against cancer and heart disease) and terpenoids, which kill cancer cells.
In fact, ginger root also contains a compound known as shogaol that has been found to inhibit the growth of stem cells in breast cancer.
Perhaps it’s a matter of time before research harnesses the healing power of ginger, but until then, there are many ways to enjoy it, including a daily cup of ginger root tea or ginger supplements. However, a 2013 study found that fresh ginger was more effective than powdered ginger at protecting the respiratory system against a respiratory virus.
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Ways to protect yourself in the hospital
When you’re laid up in the hospital, you’re often not in a position of strength. Still, there are questions you can ask and precautions you can take to defend yourself from getting a hospital-acquired infection.
Know how hospital infections spread. In a hospital, infections are spread through touch and through the air.
Every surface in a hospital is a potential hotbed of germs. Your doctor’s stethoscope, your bed rails, and every other surface you touch can harbor bacteria.
And once you’re home, you’re not out of the woods.
Researchers at Oregon State University explored more than 3,000 at-risk patients. The study revealed that the risk of infection tripled once patients went home.
Among UTIs acquired in the hospital, approximately 75% are associated with a urinary catheter, which is a tube inserted into the bladder through the urethra to drain urine.
Infections are also spread through the air. A roommate with pneumonia doesn’t have to cough on you to infect you. They just have to share your airspace.
Prepare ahead of time for your hospital stay. Bring along antiseptic wipes and some germ-filtering masks.
Keep germs away from you. Hang a sign in your room that says, “Please wash your hands before touching me.” This is a warning for both staff and visitors. While this may seem extreme, it really isn’t. Visitors, especially, don’t often think about this.
Politely but firmly ask your doctors and nurses if they’ve washed their hands before touching you.
Catheters. Make sure that urinary catheters are removed and replaced at least once a week. Insist that the area be washed before inserting a new one.
Plan for times when you can’t advocate for yourself. There will be times when you’re asleep or sedated, and won’t be able to ask questions or insist on cleanliness procedure.
Arrange to have a friend or family member there to do this for you. If you don’t know someone you feel is assertive enough to do this, consider hiring a professional patient advocate.
Sources:
- Natural antibiotic: Research looks at potential of ginger against superbugs — Herbs.news
- Antibacterial potential of extracts of the roots of Zingiber officinale against bacterial strains commonly associated with nosocomial infections — Journal of Medicinal Plants Research
- Natural ginger is up to 10,000 times more effective than chemotherapy drugs at treating cancer, study shows — Natural News
- Nosocomial Infections — Lumen Learning | Boundless Microbiology
- Fresh Ginger (Zingiber Officinale) Has Anti-Viral Activity Against Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Human Respiratory Tract Cell Lines — Journal of Ethnopharmacology
- How to Avoid Hospital-Acquired Infections — Verywell Health
- Dangerous UTIs Can Follow Hospital Patients Home — US News
By Joyce Hollman
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